Southern Waters officially becomes a four-council water services company 

The Waitaki District Council has officially returned to Southern Waters, marking a major milestone in the establishment of the South Island’s largest joint council-owned water services company.

At an extraordinary meeting today (Tuesday 14 April), Waitaki councillors approved the key foundation documents needed to support the move, including the Shareholders’ Agreement, Constitution and updated Commitment Agreement.

They also appointed two representatives to the Stakeholders’ Representative Group (SRG) – Mayor Mel Tavendale and Cr Frans Schlack.

Waitaki’s decision means it will rejoin Central Otago, Clutha and Gore District Councils to form a water services company that will deliver water, wastewater and stormwater services to around 84,100 people across 24,702 square kilometres.

Southern Waters spokesperson and Central Otago District Mayor Tamah Alley said the return of Waitaki was a positive step for the future of water services across the lower South Island.

“Southern Waters is about doing what’s right for our communities, both now and into the future.

“By working together, we’re putting in place a structure that supports long-term investment, strong service delivery, and sustainable outcomes across our boundaries.”

Mayor Alley said bringing Waitaki into the partnership would strengthen Southern Waters’ financial and operational position.

“Southern Waters is an outstanding example of smaller and mid-sized districts working together to stay strong.

“Our councils face many of the same challenges, such as ageing infrastructure, increasing regulation, and strong expectations from communities around safety and affordability.”

Greater scale will deliver savings

Modelling has also shown the value of greater scale. Work by Morrison Low Advisory on the original four-council model indicated cumulative savings of $627 million by 2054. This compares to modelling for the three-council structure, which reduced that figure to approximately $392 million by 2054.

Southern Waters will manage assets valued at $684 million, including:

• 4,787km of water pipeline
• 24 urban water supplies
• 67 water and wastewater treatment plants
• 17 rural water schemes

Waitaki District Mayor Mel Tavendale said rejoining Southern Waters was about securing the best long‑term outcome for the District’s communities.

“Our decision to return to Southern Waters follows careful analysis and a clear focus on what will deliver safe, sustainable and affordable water services for Waitaki over the long term.

“Working alongside neighbouring councils gives us the scale, capability and resilience needed to meet growing regulatory requirements while keeping the interests of our communities front and centre,” she said.

Mayor Alley said the priority now was to keep momentum up toward Southern Waters going live in July 2027.

“We’ve got collaborative councils, a highly skilled delivery team and a mandate to provide the best water services we can for our people. Now we need to get on with the set-up so we are ready to go in July 2027.”

Waitaki opted out of Southern Waters, a council controlled organisation formed under the Government’s Local Water Done Well reforms, last year in favour of an in-house water services delivery model. However, following the rejection of its Water Services Delivery Plan and the investigation of joint service delivery models, Waitaki resolved to rejoin Southern Waters.

Central Otago, Clutha and Gore District Councils agreed to Waitaki’s return, approved the foundation documents and appointed their Stakeholders’ Representative Group members at meetings in March and April.  

Stakeholders’ Representative Group

The Stakeholders’ Representative Group represents the shareholder councils collectively. Its duties include appointing and removing directors, setting shareholder expectations and monitoring the Board’s performance

Southern Waters’ shareholding council representatives are:

•         Central Otago District Council: Mayor Tamah Alley and Cr Cheryl Laws
•          Clutha District Council: Mayor Jock Martin and Cr Roger Cotton
•          Gore District Council: Mayor Ben Bell and Cr Neville Phillips
•          Waitaki District Council: Mayor Mel Tavendale and Cr Frans Schlack 

The SRG also includes two mana whenua representatives and one rural representative, who have yet to be named.

Council representatives and the Southern Waters’ Project Team are scheduled to meet later this month to discuss the company’s Water Services Strategy.